Met according to adjournment,
at eleven o’clock A.M., in an Informal Session, with Mrs. Walrath
of Stow in the Chair (having been appointed by the Speaker, under authority
conferred by Rule 5, to perform the duties of the Chair).

Prayer was offered by the Reverend
Robert F. Quinn, C.S.P., Chaplain of the House, as follows:

God, Our Creator, we struggle daily
to present to You and to constituents our most thoughtful decisions and
highest motives as we address and resolve difficult legislative challenges.
We pray today that our faith in You will inspire us to have faith in each
other, our trust in You will assist us in building trust in each other
and our love for You will help us to generate love in the hearts and minds
of all people. In Your goodness, grant us the vision, capacity and wisdom
to see beyond the issues of this day and the moral and intellectual vision
to plan for a future in which the virtues of justice, integrity and personal
responsibility are recognized and implemented.

Bestow Your blessings on the Speaker
the members and employees of this House and their families. Amen.

At the request of the Chair (Mrs.
Walrath), the members, guests and employees joined with her in reciting
the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

Message from
the Governor — Bill Returned with

Recommendation
of Amendment.

A message from His Excellency the
Governor returning with recommendation of amendment the engrossed Bill
relative to group insurance premiums for retired employees of the town
of Webster retirees insurance premium rate [see House, No. 428] (for message,
see House, No. 3852) was filed in the office of the Clerk on Tuesday,
May 13.

The message was read; and, under
the provisions of Article LVI of the Amendments to the Constitution, the
bill was thereupon “before the General Court and subject to amendment
and re-enactment”.

Pending the question on adoption
of the amendment recommended by His Excellency, the bill was referred,
on motion of Mr. Kujawski of Webster, to the committee on Bills in the
Third Reading.

Resolutions.

The following resolutions (filed
with the Clerk) were referred, under Rule 85, to the committee on Rules:

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Coppola
of Foxborough) congratulating Sean-Eric Civitarese on receiving the Eagle
Award of the Boy Scouts of America;

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Kane
of Holyoke) congratulating Ryan M. Dugre on receiving the Eagle Award
of the Boy Scouts of America;

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Koutoujian
of Newton) commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Massachusetts
Chapter of the Health Care Financial Management Association;

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Kujawski
of Webster) celebrating the many business achievements and dedication
to the community of Webster by Mr. George L. Place, Jr.;

Resolutions (filed by Mr. O’Brien
of Kingston) congratulating Russell Govoni on the occasion of his retirement
from the Silver Lake Regional High School;

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Quinn
of Dartmouth) congratulating Donald King on the occasion of his retirement;

Resolutions (filed by Messrs. Timilty
of Milton, Galvin of Canton and Ayers of Quincy) congratulating June Newman
on the occasion of her retirement from the office of Director of Veterans
and Elderly Affairs in the town of Randolph;

Mrs. Harkins of Needham, for the
committee on Rules, reported, in each instance, that the resolutions ought
to be adopted. Under suspension of the rules, in each instance, on motion
of Mr. Coppola, the resolutions (reported by the committee on Bills in
the Third Reading to be correctly drawn) were considered forthwith; and
they were adopted.

Petitions.

A petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 3857) of Eugene L. O’Flaherty relative to exempting a
certain public waterfront walkway from the harbor line in the city of
Boston (having been returned by the State Secretary, under the provisions
of Chapter 3 of the General Laws with memoranda relative thereto) was
referred, under Rule 24, to the committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture.
Sent to the Senate for concurrence.

The following petitions (deposited
with the Clerk previously to five o’clock in the afternoon of Wednesday,
December 4, 2002) were presented and they were severally referred, under
Rule 24 and Joint Rule 13, as follows:

By Ms. Jehlen of Somerville, petition
(accompanied by resolutions, House, No. 3850) of Patricia D. Jehlen for
adoption of resolutions by the General Court relative to the indictment,
trial and imprisonment of Louis M. Greco for first degree murder and conspiracy
to murder in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-eight. To the committee
on the Judiciary.

By Mr. Torrisi of North Andover,
petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3847) of David M. Torrisi, Steven
A. Baddour, Bruce E. Tarr and Barbara A. L’Italien (by vote of the
town) relative to authorizing the town of North Andover to grant open
space restrictions. To the committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture.

Severally sent to the Senate for
concurrence.

Mr. Ciampa of Somerville presented
a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3853) of Charles E. Shannon,
Vincent P. Ciampa, Patricia D. Jehlen, Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., and others
(with the approval of the mayor and board of aldermen) that the city of
Somerville be authorized to issue certain bonds for renovation of the
Homan’s Building located in said town; and the same was referred
to the committee on Long Term Debt and Capital Expeditures. Sent to the
Senate for concurrence.

Petitions severally were presented
and referred as follows:

By Ms. Blumer of Framingham, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of Deborah D. Blumer
that the Department of Personnel Administration be directed to develop
rules and procedures for administering polygraph tests to applicants for
the position of police officer.

By the same member, petition (subject
to Joint Rule 12) of Deborah D. Blumer and Pamela P. Resor for the issuance
of an annual proclamation by the Governor establishing September twenty-first
as Myositis Awareness Day.

By Mr. Connolly of Everett, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of Edward G. Connolly for legislation to further
regulate the granting of certain creditable service to veterans under
the public employees retirement law.

By Mr. Greene of Billerica, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of William G. Greene, Jr., relative to the
granting of licenses to certain persons for the practice of speech-language
pathology.

By Mr. Hill of Ipswich, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of Bradford Hill for legislation to authorize
cities and towns to assess owner-occupied residential property based on
the purchase price of said property.

By Mr. Leary of Worcester, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of James B. Leary and Paul Kujawski that the
Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
be directed to grant an easement on certain land in the town of Sterling
to James M. Meola.

By Mr. Quinn of Dartmouth, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of John F. Quinn for legislation to further
define the term “legislative body” relative to retirement
boards in cities and towns.

By Mr. Sullivan of Fall River,
petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of David B. Sullivan, Robert Correia,
Michael J. Rodrigues and Joan M. Menard that the children of police officer
Richard Magan, who died in the line of duty, be certified for appointment
to the police service in the Commonwealth.

By Mr. Toomey of Cambridge, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of Michael A. Sullivan (mayor), Timothy J.
Toomey, Jr., Paul C. Demakis, Anne M. Paulsen, Byron Rushing, Rachel Kaprielian,
Alice K. Wolf and others (with the approval of the city council) for legislation
to authorize persons seventeen years of age to vote in certain elections
in the city of Cambridge.

By Mr. Travis of Rehoboth, petition
(subject to Joint Rule 12) of Philip Travis for legislation to authorize
voluntary contributions to the Fire Fighters Academy Trust Fund under
the income tax laws of the Commonwealth.

Severally, under Rule 24, to the
committee on Rules.

Papers
from the Senate.

The House Bill establishing a sick
leave bank for Francie R. Minder, an employee of the Department of Mental
Retardation (House, No. 3736) came from the Senate passed to be engrossed,
in concurrence, with an amendment adding at the end thereof the
follow­ing sentence: “Whenever Francie
R. Minder terminates employment with the Department of Mental Retardation
or requests to dissolve the sick leave bank, any remaining time in the
sick leave bank shall be transferred to the extended illness leave bank.”.

Under suspension of Rule 35, on
motion of Mr. Pignatelli of Lenox, the amendment (reported by the committee
on Bills in the Third Reading to be correctly drawn) was considered forthwith;
and it was adopted, in concurrence.

A petition of Joan M. Menard for
legislation relative to the merger of Moby Dick Council, Inc., Boy Scouts
of America of Massachusetts and the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of
America of Rhode Island, came from the Senate referred, under suspension
of Joint Rules 12 and 9, to the committee on Commerce and Labor.

The House then concurred with the
Senate in the suspension of said rules; and the petition (accompanied
by bill, Senate, No. 1993) was referred, in concurrence, to the committee
on Commerce and Labor.

Petitions were referred, in concurrence,
under suspension of Joint Rule 12, as follows:

Petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 1994) of Robert A. O’Leary for legislation to direct
the Department of Education to conduct a study of students’ use
of writing tools for the MCAS examination. To the committee on Education,
Arts and Humanities.

Petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 1995) of Robert A. O’Leary and John J. Binienda for
legislation relative to the civil penalties for violations of the Federal
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act. To the committee on Government Regulations.

Petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 1996) of Robert A. O’Leary, Michael W. Morrissey and
Matthew C. Patrick for legislation to impose a local excise tax on all
passenger ferry trips. To the committee on Taxation.

Reports of Committees.

By Mr. Scaccia of Boston, for the
committee on Rules and the committees on Rules of the two branches, acting
concurrently, that Joint Rule 12 be suspended on the following petitions:

Petition (accompanied by bill)
of Christopher J. Donelan, Stephen Kulik, Michael F. Rush and Stephen
M. Brewer relative to the notice requirements in small claims procedures.
To the committee on the Judiciary.

Petition (accompanied by bill)
of Shirley Gomes and other members of the General Court that the Registrar
of Motor Vehicles be directed to issue distinctive license plates for
the purpose of funding the Cape Cod Baseball League. To the committee
on Public Safety.

Petition (accompanied by bill)
of Robert A. DeLeo relative to certain exemptions under the law regulating
the assessments of local real estate taxes. To the committee on Taxation.

Under suspension of the rules,
on motion of Mr. Hynes of Marshfield, the reports were considered forthwith.
Joint Rule 12 then was suspended, in each instance. Severally sent to
the Senate for concurrence.

By Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill, for
the committee on Science and Technology, asking to be discharged from
further consideration of the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No.
124) of Steven A. Tolman, Bruce E. Tarr, Charles E. Shannon, Susan C.
Fargo and Brian A. Joyce for legislation to prohibit the distribution
of unsolicited electronic mail,— and
recommending that the same be referred to the Senate committee on Science and Technology. Under
Rule 42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was accepted, insomuch
as relates to the discharge of the committee. Sent to the Senate for concurrence
in the reference.

By Mr. Kujawski of Webster, for
the committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, asking to be discharged
from further consideration

Of the Bill relative to the issuance
of vehicle registration places (House, No. 78);

Of the Bill relative to failure
to submit to a police officer (House, No. 3373); and

Of the Bill designating the number
6 as the official number of the Commonwealth (House, No. 3597);

And recommending that the same
severally be referred to the House committee on Rules.

Under Rule 42, the reports severally
were considered forthwith; and they were accepted.

By Mr. Honan of Boston, for the
committee on Housing and Urban Development,
asking to be discharged from further consideration of the petition (accompanied
by bill, House, No. 3165) of Kathi-Anne Reinstein and Robert A. DeLeo
relative to the maintenance of recreational facilities and to provide
for additional patrols along Revere Beach in the city of Revere,—
and recommending that the same be referred to the committee on Ways and
Means. Under Rule 42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was
accepted. Sent to the Senate for concurrence in the discharge of the committee.

By Mr. Honan of Boston, for the
committee on Housing and Urban Development, on Senate, Nos. 702, 711,
715 and 732 and House, Nos. 703, 1492, 1668, 2061 and 3524, an Order relative
to authorizing the committee on Housing and Urban Development to make
an investigation and study of certain Senate and House documents concerning
public housing units and the Metropolitan District Commission (House,
No. 3851). Referred, under Joint Rule 29, to the committees on Rules of
the two branches, acting concurrently.

Subsequently Mr. Scaccia of Boston,
for said committees, reported asking to
be discharged from further consideration of said order; and recommending
that the same be referred to the House committee on Rules. Under Rule
42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was accepted.

By Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill, for
the committee on Science and Technology, that the Bill providing for the
purchase by the Commonwealth of electricity from renewable energy sources
(printed in House, No. 3738, changed) ought to pass. Referred, under Rule
32A, to the committee on Long-Term Debt and Capital Expenditures.

By Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill, for
the committee on Science and Technology, that the Bill relative to an
initiative to promote the commercialization of fuel cell technology (House,
No. 520) ought to pass. Referred, under Rule 33, to the committee on Ways
and Means.

By Mr. Honan of Boston, for the
committee on Housing and Urban Development,
on a petition, a Bill authorizing the Metropolitan District Commission
to acquire a certain parcel of land in the city of Boston (House, No.
152).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill relative to
certain parcels of land of the Metropolitan District Commission (House,
No. 153).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill establishing
a trust fund within the Metropolitan District Commission for the planting
of trees (House, No. 154).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on House, No. 1294, a Bill relative
to cross-country skiing at the Quabbin Reservoir (House, No. 3856).

By Mr. Hall of Westford, for the
committee on State Administration, on a petition, a Bill relative to the
enhanced disposition of surplus motor vehicles owned by the Commonwealth
or authorities established by the State (House, No. 258).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill to ensure
proper expenditure of and accounting for state funds (House, No. 630).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill providing
the disclosure of materials supporting appropriations (House, No. 836).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill establishing
the Commonwealth public facilities reuse fund (House, No. 1388).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill relative to
technical changes to the Records Conservation Board (House, No. 1592).

Severally read; and referred, under
Rule 33, to the committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. Honan of Boston, for the
committee on Housing and Urban Development,
on a petition, a Bill relative to interstate criminal information systems
(House, No. 1489).

By Mr. Hall of Westford, for the
committee on State Administration, on a petition, a Bill providing for
the annual observance of World War II Commemoration Day (House, No. 1201).

By the same member, for the same
committee, on a petition, a Bill authorizing
the Stoneham board of library trustees to appoint library personnel (House,
No. 3714) [Local Approval Received].

Severally read; and referred, under
Rule 7A, to the committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling.

Emergency Measure.

The engrossed Bill relative to
the compensation of certain members of the General Court (see House, No.
3743), having been certified by the Clerk to be rightly and truly prepared
for final passage, was considered, the question being on adopting the
emergency preamble.

A separate vote was taken, as required
by the provisions of Article XLVIII (as amended by Article LXVII) of the
Amendments to the Constitution; and the preamble
was adopted, by a vote of 5 to 0. Sent to the
Senate for concurrence.

Order.

On motion of Mr. Finneran of Boston,—

Ordered, That
when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Monday next at eleven
o’clock A.M.

Mr. Goguen of Fitchburg then moved
that as a mark of respect to the memory of Joseph D. Ward, a member of
the House from Fitchburg from 1949 to 1956, inclusive, Secretary of the
Commonwealth in 1959, 1960 and 1961 and a member of the Massachusetts
Senate from 1963 to 1972, inclusive, the House adjourn; and the motion
prevailed.

Accordingly, at twenty minutes
after eleven o’clock A.M., on motion of Mr. Peterson of Grafton
(Mrs. Walrath of Stow being in the Chair), the House adjourned, to meet
on Monday next at eleven o’clock A.M., in an Informal Session.